RESIDENTS PLEAD TO GAIN MAN'S RELEASE

A Boynton Beach man serving probation for child molestation and awaiting trial on similar charges was released on bail on Friday after friends and employers pleaded to set him free.

The impassioned pleas of nearly 20 residents from the Village Royale on the Green in Boynton Beach for Willis Rambo's release was unprecedented, prosecutor Betty Resch said on Friday.

The State Attorney's Office received about 50 calls from outraged Boynton Beach residents -- including some Village Royale residents. Nancy McBride, of the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, said there will be a gathering in front of the condominium complex today.

Not all of the Village Royale residents agreed with Rambo's release.

"Everyone here I talked to is up in arms," said one resident on Friday who asked that her name not to be used. The woman said she was scared of Rambo and his supporters. "We're ashamed and embarrassed. I can't believe they're allowing this to happen."

She also said that many people do not want Rambo to come back to work at the complex. "The people here think he's coming back here to work on Monday," she said. "If some people feel he should come back, they should wait until after the trial."

In June 1985, Rambo pleaded guilty to charges of lewd assault of a minor and was sentenced to 10 years' probation. In January, Rambo, 34, was arrested on 10 counts of capital sexual battery and 10 counts of lewd assault, court records show.

Lantana detectives said Rambo molested a 7-year-old girl over the course of several months.

In a hearing on Thursday, Resch argued that Rambo should remain in jail without bail. Rambo's attorney, Ted Brabham, argued that Rambo has strong family ties to Palm Beach County and has been a maintenance worker for the Village of Royale Green for 10 years.

"It flies in the face of reason," Resch said of Rambo's release and of his support from some condo residents.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Hubert Lindsey set Rambo's bail at $100,000. While being led out of the courtroom, some of the residents promised to help post the bail.

"I will only comment that the bond was raised through friends and family of Mr. Rambo," Brabham said shortly after Rambo's release on Friday afternoon.

The residents described Rambo as a hard worker who helped many residents in their homes. Resch, a prosecutor in the crimes against children division since 1988, said she had never seen a segment of the community argue to get a convicted child molester released while awaiting trial on new charges.

Still, Resch doubts Rambo will try to see the girl again.

"I don't think he's going to go near the victim," Resch said. "The judge told him if he goes near a child, he's going back to jail."